'The Walking Dead' made a big departure from the comics and fans think it may position a character as the new leader of the show

Aaron may be taking on a bigger role after Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead."
Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Bridge."

Sunday's episode of " The Walking Dead" saw one mysterious death at the episode's end, but it was another big loss earlier in the episode that got the fandom talking.

Aaron (Ross Marquand) got his arm lodged under a giant log during a walker attack and the injury was so bad that it had to be amputated. Nurse-in-training Enid (Katelyn Nacon) was forced to cut off Aaron's arm as the patient was awake to feel the entire thing.

Many fans didn't see it coming.

After the initial shock of Aaron losing his arm settled in, comic fans thought the show may be positioning the character to take over as one of the show's main leads when Rick (Andrew Lincoln) ultimately leaves.